Impacts of Transportation Policies on Greenhouse Gas Emissions in U.S. Regions

The objective of this study is to ascertain the cost-effectiveness (costs and impacts) of specific behavior policies and transportation systems on the reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the transportation sectors of 48 principal U.S. urban areas, compared with the impact that is likely to occur from the new CAFE standards alone. The specific goals of the study are to: 1. Identify how much CO2 was emitted in the baseline year (2005) by automobile, light trucks and sport utility vehicles. and commercial trucks in each of 48 regional areas; 2. Confirm the quantity of CO2 that would be emitted in 2030, with and without the new CAFE standards; 3. Determine how much CO2, absolutely and relatively, might be decreased by 2030 in each region by various behavior policies and transportation systems. 4. Ascertain the cost of these activities and their relative cost-effectiveness and, based on these findings, 5. Offer strategies for effective undertaking in different urban areas. This approach presents a specific evaluation for 48 selected regions, summarizes the overall impact of selected policies, and results in findings at an ideal time when Congress and the president are addressing the issue. It hopes to be one of the first comprehensive comparative assessments of a wide range of transportation-related CO2 policies for specific regions of the country.

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